An Uber driver in San Francisco was assaulted and coughed upon by a woman riding with two of her friends after he refused them service for not wearing masks, in an attack that was captured on camera and has since gone viral on social media.
The incident took place on Sunday shortly after the Uber driver, identified as Subhakar Khadka, picked up the passengers in Bayview. Shortly after Khadka picked up the three women he realized that one of them did not have a face mask so he pulled over at a gas station and asked them to either wear a face mask or exit his vehicle.
The video, shared by ABC7 reporter Dion Lim, kicks off with one woman telling the driver, "F*ck the masks!" before intentionally coughing at him. The women then start berating the driver using profanities and at one point, the woman seen coughing on the driver lunges forward and grabs the driver's cellphone before ripping off his face mask. Khadka has since reported the incident to the San Francisco police who are conducting an investigation.
Watch the video below:
The passengers eventually stepped out of the vehicle and according to San Francisco police, one of the women also sprayed what is believed to be pepper spray in the direction of the driver after exiting their ride, according to CBS Local.
Passenger Banned from Uber, Claims She Was 'Kidnapped'
In the wake of the incident, an Uber spokesperson confirmed that the passenger in the video had been banned from the ride-sharing platform. "This behavior is completely unacceptable and goes against our Community Guidelines. Our team has investigated this situation and removed the Rider's access to the Uber platform," the company said in a statement.
Although the identity of the woman who assaulted Subhakar is not yet known, an Instagram account (@keepinupwforeign) linked to the woman shared a series of videos on the platform filmed from the backseat of the vehicle. In one of the videos, the woman claimed she was "kidnapped" but he can be heard telling them repeatedly that their ride has been cancelled and asks them to get out of his vehicle but they refuse.
